“He's been working extremely hard the last three or four weeks doing that,” Malzahn said of Truitt. “He had his opportunity the other night and he runs between the tackles very well. He's got a lot of great instincts and he's got another gear. I think that will be something we can utilize the rest of the season.”

Freshman Eli Stove and Kam Martin also had an impact Saturday night. Stove opened up Auburn’s offensive onslaught with a 78-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage.

“That’s a good problem to have take you back to 2013 when we had that crew of running backs we had,” Malzahn said. “Coach Lashlee can be a little more creative at times with personnel. It’s good we have that many running backs or really even explosive players that we have.”

War Eagle Extra

Jordan D. Hill has covered high schools and athletes in the Bi-City area for the Ledger-Enquirer since January 2017. Prior to coming to Columbus, Hill was a freelancer for The Macon Telegraph and an intern for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A native of Jasper, Georgia, Hill is a graduate of Pickens High School and the University of Georgia.